1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-vivo examination apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, one example of an examination apparatus for carrying out in-vivo examination is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-322803 (see FIG. 1, etc. therein).
This examination apparatus, which is a microscope for surgical operations, has a microscope apparatus provided at the end of an articulated arm. By changing the rotation angle of each joint in the articulated arm, the position and orientation of the microscope apparatus can be freely adjusted, which allows it to be positioned close to the subject from any direction and magnified examination carried out.
While the examination apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-322803 is sufficient for carrying out magnified examination of a subject during a surgical operation, it is not required to carry out examination from different angles while keeping the examination site at the focal point of the microscope apparatus. Therefore, in examining a previously focused examination site from different directions, this apparatus suffers from the disadvantage that a re-focusing operation must be carried out after the examination angle is changed.